Authorities said Martinez flashed the powerful light at the players in the bottom of the eighth inning from his seat behind home plate. He was quickly ejected from the game.
One of the things I tried to run down while writing The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball were incidents of fans in Baltimore using mirrors to blind visiting players as a coordinated strategy, particularly when the players were trying to catch fly balls.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find enough contemporary evidence that it was something fans did in numbers, or as part of any kind of strategy. It was a lot easier to do when all the stadiums were outdoors and the games were played during the day, of course.
This is the first time I’ve heard of someone behind home plate using a flashlight, though.
hat tip to David Steinberg for the article
zzyzx | 23-Apr-07 at 6:10 pm | Permalink
Glad to be of service.
msb | 24-Apr-07 at 8:06 am | Permalink
USA TODAY, January 8, 1999
League plans to attack outbreak of laser pointers
Major League Baseball and the NFL are targeting the laser-pointer problem.
The novelty items are priced from $10-$300. Popular with children and adults, they project a thin red beam up to 1,500 feet. They can briefly blind a victim and, in rare cases when someone stares into the light, they can slightly damage eyesight.
Last year, Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez was touched by a beam while batting.
Kevin Hallinan, executive director for MLB security, said seminars have been held for stadium operations personnel, who’ve been supplied with red-tint sunglasses to identify laser pointer operators.
“We will prosecute,” Hallinan says. “These things are dangerous for fans and players.”
[and that doean't even mention the baseball players messing around with them ...]
USA TODAY, April 27, 1999
Major League Baseball has banned laser pointers, but the San Diego Padres say Jason Schmidt and Turner Ward didn’t get the message. The pointers emit a beam as far as 1,500 feet, a dangerous distraction
that can blur vision.
One week ago, Schmidt, a pitcher, and Ward, an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, allegedly used a laser pointer in a game
in San Diego. They avoided pointing at other players. Their prey: photographers.”